National Instruments E Series

The National Instruments E Series is a Legacy Series which includes PCI and PXI Multifunction DAQ Devices. The E Series National Instruments devices have as many as 64 analog input channels, two counters, eight or 32 lines of digital input/output, and a maximum of two analog output channels. The E Series devices can be calibrated internally or externally. The self-calibration or internal calibration alters the instrument relative to an extremely precise and steady internal reference on the device. Self-calibration is recommended when environmental settings vary greatly. Self-calibration can be initiated by utilizing the self-calibrate function or VI that comes with the driver software. On the other hand, external calibration alters the instrument relative to a traceable, extremely precise calibration standard. It is suggested to calibrate the instrument at a minimum for the duration specified in the E Series User Manual.

The E Series devices utilize an NI DAQ system timing controller, otherwise referred to as DAQ-STC, for features related to time. The DAQ-STC contains several timing groups: AI, AO, and general-purpose counter/timer functions. The AI are two 24-bit and two 16-bit counters. Next, there are three 24-bit and a single 16-bit counter. Lastly, there are two 24-bit counters. The user can individually arrange the groups for timing resolutions of 50 ns or 10 μs. The DAQ-STC allows the user to interconnect many types of internal timing signals to other internal blocks. The interconnection scheme is versatile and software-configurable.

The NI application software which can be used with the NI E Series includes LabVIEW, Measurement Studio, and VI Logger. These DAQ Devices can be programmed with NI-DAQ (Legacy) or NI-DAQmx. Both drivers have a separate API, hardware configuration, and software configuration. Both drivers additionally come with programming examples to aid the user in developing an application.

The E Series National Instruments can be used with several types of accessories, including the SCXI platform. The SCXI accessories can expand the analog inputs on the E Series devices to a maximum of 3,072 channels. The E Series DAQ Devices can additionally be used with the SCC Series, BNC Connector Blocks, the CA-1000 Configurable Signal Conditioning Enclosure, TB-2705 Terminal Block, SCB-68 and SCB-100 Shielded I/O Connector Blocks, RTSI Bus Cables, SH-68-68-EP Shielded I/O Cables, and more.

This series is now considered obsolete, but Apex Waves sells many of the E Series devices, including the PCI-6023E, PCI-6024E, PCI-6025E, PCI-6033E, PCI-6036E, PCI-6052E, and more. Repair services are offered as well.